Former Grand Rapids Police officer Christopher Schurr sits in court during the second day of his trial at the Kent County Courthouse in Grand Rapids, Mich., Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Schurr is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant during a traffic stop on April 4, 2022. (WOOD-TV via Associated Press)
  • Schurr says he feared for his life and shot Patrick Lyoya because the 26-year-old Congolese immigrant had control of his Taser 
  • His second-degree murder trial ended without a unanimous verdict
  • Prosecutor Chris Becker said he doubted that a second jury would come up with a different result

A Michigan police officer who fatally shot a Congolese immigrant in the back of the head after a tumultuous traffic stop will not face a second trial, a prosecutor said Thursday, two weeks after a trial ended without a unanimous verdict.

The Associated Press
This story also appeared in The Associated Press

The decision by prosecutor Chris Becker is certain to upset civil rights activists and the family of the 26-year-old  Patrick Lyoya, whose death in the front yard of a Grand Rapids home was recorded on video and played repeatedly at trial.

Becker said he doubted that a second jury would come up with a different result.

“This is a split community,” he told reporters.

A message seeking comment from Christopher Schurr’s lawyer wasn’t immediately returned.

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Schurr, who was a Grand Rapids officer, claimed self-defense, saying he feared for his life and shot Lyoya because the man had control of his Taser. He was charged with second-degree murder, though the jury also was allowed to consider a lesser charge of manslaughter.

Lyoya’s death in April 2022 was the climax of a fierce struggle that lasted more than two minutes. Schurr stopped a car for having the wrong license plate. Lyoya stepped out of the car, didn’t produce a driver’s license and began running.

Schurr was on top of Lyoya on the ground when he shot him in the back of the head. The entire confrontation was recorded on video and repeatedly played for the jury.

At trial, defense experts said the decision to use deadly force was justified because the exhausted officer could have been seriously injured if Lyoya had used the Taser. The prosecutor’s experts, however, said Schurr had other choices, including simply letting Lyoya run.

It’s not known why Lyoya was trying to flee. Records show his driver’s license was revoked at the time and there was an arrest warrant for him in a domestic violence case, though Schurr didn’t know it. An autopsy revealed his blood-alcohol level was three times above the legal limit for driving.